F 589 
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The Early Outposts of Wisconsin, 



A Paper read before the State Historleal Society of Wiscotisin, December 26, 1872. 



Annals of Prairie du Cliien. 



By DANIEL S. DUKRIE, Librariax. 



The early history of this place and sur- 
rounding country, as compared witli some 
others in this State is shrouded with un- 
certainty; while the section around Green 
Bay is known to have been inhabited by 
various Indian tribes as early as 1G39, as 
ascertained by Jeaist Nicollet, who has 
the reputation of being the first white per- 
son who visited that region, the section of 
territory lying to the west and south west, 
was an unknown wilderness. 

Father Marquette is supposed to be 
the first white person who penetrated the 
territory of Wisconsin west of Green Bay. 
Passing up the Fox river with Joliet, he 
crosses the portage of the Wisconsin, and 
passing down the latter stream entei'ed the 
Mississippi June 17, 1673,— two hundred 
years ago the present year. He says "' tlic 
river is narrow at tlie mouth of the Wis 
consin, and the current slow and gentle ; 
on the right is a considerable chain of 
very high mountains, ( '? ), (Maj. Pike says 
5.50 feet above the w^ater,) and on the left, 
very fine lands. It is, in many places, 
studded with islands ; he found ten fathoms 
of water — its breadth very unequal, 
sometimes three-quarters of a league and 
sometimes narrows to three arpents or 
two hundred and twenty yards." He did 
not stop but proceeded on his journey 
South, and as the prairie lying above the 
junction of the two rivers was very prob- 
ably hid by the timber on the bottoms, it 
is doubtful if he ascended to it. He saw 
no Indians in the vicinity and there was 
no appearance of villages or settlements. 
This is the first account we have of the 



region known as the "Prairie du Chieu 
country." 

1C80. The next explorer of Wisconsin 
and the upper Mississippi was Father 
Louis Hennepin, who accompanied La 
Salle and his party in his expedition to 
explore the Mississippi. He was sent up 
the river by LaSalle to the country of 
the Sioux and discovered the Falls of St. 
Anthony ; he was taken prisoner but was 
afterward released by Frenchmen arrived 
from Canada. On his return, he stopped 
near the mouth of the Wisconsin to smoke 
some meat, probably not far from the 
present city. He found no Indians living 
there, nor any traders. He then passed 
up the Wisconsin for Green Bay. 

1681-89. The exact time at which a 
military post was established at Prairie 
du Chien, has been the subject of much 
speculation, some putting it as late as 
1775, while it is stated in a report of a 
committee of Congress, to have occurred 
in 1755, which was" the year following the 
reconciliation of the French and Sacs 
and Foxes. The latter date may be the 
correct one, as the French surrendered 
Canada to the English in 1760; but it is 
very evident that there must have been a 
post at a much earlier date, at or near the 
Prairie. The evidence of this early occu- 
pation is found in the official document 
of the taking possession of the 
Mississippi Valley in the name of 
the French King, by "Nicholas 
Perrot, commanding at "the post of the 
Naudouesioux" at the post of St. Antho- 
ny, May 8, 1689, "to which documents 



016 091 5ff'''|''j^ 



F 589 
.P8 D9 
Copy 1 






The Early Outposts of Wisconsin, 



A Pajier read bc/o)-e the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, December 26, 1872. 



Annals of Prairie du Cliien. 



By DANIEL S. DURRIE, Librarian. 



The early history of this place and sur- 
rounding country, as compared with some 
others in this State is shrouded willi un- 
certainty; while the section around Green 
Baj' is known to have been inhabited by 
various Indian tribes as early as 1G39, as 
ascertained by Jean Nicollet, who has 
the reputation of being the first white per- 
son who visited that region, the section of 
territory lying to the west and south west, 
was an unknown wilderness. 

Father Marquette is supposed to be 
the first white person who penetrated the 
territory of Wisconsin west of Green Bay. 
Passing up the Fox river with Joliet, he 
crosses the portage of the Wisconsin, and 
passing down the latter stream entej-ed the 
Mississippi June 17, 1673, — two hundred 
years ago the present year. He saj^s '' the 
river is narrow at tiie mouth of the Wis 
consin, and the current slow and gentle ; 
on the right is a considerable chain of 
very higli mountains, (?), (Maj. Pike says 
5o0 feet above the water,) and on the left, 
very fine lands. It is, in many places, 
studded with islands ; he found ten fathoms 
of water — its breadth very unequal, 
sometimes three-quarters of a league and 
sometimes narrows to three arpents or 
two hundred and twenty 5'ards." He did 
not stop but proceeded on his journey 
South, and as the prairie lying above the 
junction of the two rivers was very prob- 
ably hid by the timber on the bottoms, it 
is doubtful if he ascended to it. He saw 
no Indians in the vicinity and there was 
no appearance of villages or settlements. 
This is tlie first account we have of the 



region known as the "Prairie du Cliien 
country." 

1680. The next explorer of Wisconsin 
and the upper Mississippi was Father 
Louis Hennepin, who accompanied La 
Salle and his party in his expedition to 
explore the Mississippi. He was sent up 
the river by LaSalle to the country of 
the Sioux and discovered the Falls of St. 
Anthony ; he was taken prisoner but was 
afterward released by Frenchmen arrived 
from Canada. On his return, he stopped 
near the mouth of the Wisconsin to smoke 
some meat, probably not far from the 
present city. He found no Indians living 
there, nor any traders. He then passed 
up the Wisconsin for Green Bay. 

1681-89. The exact time at which a 
military post was established at Prairie 
du Chien, has been the subject of much 
speculation, some putting it as late as 
1775, while it is stated in a report of a 
committee of Congress, to have occurred 
in 1755, which was the year following the 
reconciliation of the French and Sacs 
and Foxes. The latter date may be the 
correct one, as the French surrendered 
Canada to the English in 1760; but it is 
very evident that there must have been a 
]iost at a much earlier date, at or near the 
Prairie. The evidence of this early occu- 
pation is found in the ofiicial document 
of the taking possession of the 
Mississippi Valley in the name of 
the French King, by "Nicholas 
Perrot, commanding at the post of the 
Naudouesioux" at the post of St. Antho- 
ny, May 8, 1089, "to which documents 



among the names of witnesses was Mons. 
De BoiaK-GuiLLOT, commanding the 
French in the neighborhood of Ouis- 
konche, on the Mississippi. No more 
suitable place could have been selected 
for a military post than Prairie du Chien, 
and from all the information thus far ob- 
tained, its location must be conceded as 
an established fact. Judge Geo. Gale in 
his work on the Upper Mississippi, says, 
"We may safely infer that the country 
about Prairie du Chien was occupied as a 
Frencli post at least as early as April 20, 
1689, and possibly the previous fall." 

In the year 16S3, Perkot visited the 
Iowa and Dacota Indians, to establish 
friendly alliances. The discovery of 
the lead mines on Des ]\Ioines and Fevre 
rivers is attributed to him. 

Baron L.v Hoxtan is the next person 
who visited "Wisconsin and published an 
account of his travels. He followed the 
route of j\rARQUETTE, and on the 23d 
October, 1689, arrived, as he says, "where 
the Wisconsin enters the Mississippi, 
which is about half a league wide at that 
place." He observed two islands, on one 
of which he landed — saw no signs of In- 
dians — passed up the Mississippi and 
made some discoveries. His statements 
about the upper country and Heknepins' 
account of his journey south, are not re- 
garded with favor by historians, and can- 
not be regarded trustworthy. 

1693-1700. In the spring of 1693 Le 
Seuer came for the first time to the Mis 
sissippi by way of the Fox and Wisconsin 
rivers, to go to the countr}' of the Sioux, 
where he lived at ditl'ereut times for seven 
years, and on Sept. 1, 1700, he passed up 
Ihe Mississippi to St. Peters river, and re- 
turned with 2,000 quintals of blue and 
green earth. 

1700-1730. There are no records of 
travelers or of any settlement at the 
Prairie until the year 1726, when, says 
Rev. Dr. A. Brunson, a man of the name 
of Cardinell came to the country as a 
hunter and trapper, and located here. He 
came fi-om Canada with his wife, who is 
supposed to be the flrst white woman in 
this section. He probably came to Green 
Bay wdth the French troops to punish the 
refractor)^ Foxes, for their insolence and 
cruelty, and hearing from the traders of 
the rich hunting grounds on the Missis- 
sippi, tried his fortune in that diiection, 
and is said to have made the tirst farm on 
the Prairie. His wife, who outlived him, 
and it is said a dozen other men to whom 
she was married, one after another, died in 
1827, computed trom the best data to be 
one hundred and thirtj' years of age. 
When she tirst came to the' country buf- 
faloes were very abundant. She said that 
in time of high water the Indians passed 



with canoes along the blufls on the east 
side of the Prairie. 

The next settler was a man of the name 
of Garnier, whose descendants still are 
found in the vicinity. 

Father Guignas passed down the Wis- 
consin in 1728, and up the Mississippi to 
Lake Pepin. 

1730-1736. About tive miles from the 
mouth of the Wisconsin the Outagamies 
had a large town on the right bank ot the 
river. They were induced from a super- 
stitious belief that the Great Spirit 
had ordered them to remove their loca- 
tion, to build a town on the banks of the 
Mississippi. This place was called by 
the French "La Prairie du Chien," the 
Dog Plain, or more propeily "Les Prairie 
des Chien," the Dogs' Prairie. This 
name was derived from a large family 
called "Des Chiens" who formerly resided 
there, and in 1781 the descendants of the 
same family then resided at that place. 
Col. B. W. Briseois says the name was 
derived from the Fox Chief Alim, or dog, 
whose band occupied the Prairie when 
first visited by the French, that chiefs 
name was "Dog," hence Dog's prairie or 
dog's meadow. Chien being the French 
of dog, turned it into Prairie du Chien. 

1736-1755. In the j-ear 1755 the govern- 
ment of France established a permanent 
military post near the mouth of the Wis- 
consin, in consequence of which a num- 
ber of French families settled in that vi- 
cinity, and established the village of 
Prairie du Chien. The fort near the Wis- 
consin, established 1689, had evidently 
been abandoned sometime previous. By 
the Treaty of Versailles in 1763, the vil- 
lage and fort followed the condition of the 
Canadas, and the Illinois countiy, as it 
was called, passed to the Crown of Eng- 
land. In 1783 the events of the American 
Pevolution again changed their condition, 
and June 1st, 1796, the village and fort 
formall}- surrendered to the United States. 

1766. Tliis year Capt. Jonathan Car- 
ver, on his way to the Upper Mississippi, 
followed the route of Marquette and 
others, and entered the Mississippi on the 
15th of October. About five miles from 
the junction of the rivers he observed the 
ruins of a large settlement in a very pleas- 
ing situation, evidently tlie town of the 
Outagamies. At the Prairie or the Dog- 
Plains, he found a large town containing 
about 300 families. The houses are well 
built after the Indian manner (log cabins, 
covered with bark), and pleasantly situat- 
ed on a very rich soil, from which they 
raise every necessary of life in great 
abundance. He saw many horses of good 
size and shape. The town, he says, "is 
the great mart where all the aiijacent 
tribes, and even those who inhabit the 



3 



most remote brandies of the ^Mississippi, 
annually assemble about the latter end of 
Ma}', bringing witli them their furs to dis- 
pose of to the traders. It is not always 
that they do so at thia place. A general 
council of the chiefs determine wliether 
it would be more conducive to their 
interest to sell their goods to the traders 
here, or carry them to Louisiana or 
Michillimackiuac." He says that 
at the mouth of the Wisconsin stands a 
high mountain, (."ioO feet, according to 
Pike), that the Mississippi is there a half 
a mile wide, but opposite to the prairie is 
more than a mile and full of islands, the 
soil of which is extraordinarily rich and 
but thinly wooded. It is singular, that 
when Carver was here, he found no 
white inhabitants, at least he does not 
speak of meeting with an}', although he 
describes the large Indian town and its 
commercial importance. He, further re- 
marks "that the traders who accompanied 
him took up their winter residence on 
the opposite side of the river; this they 
would not have done if there had been at 
that time a settlement of whites near the 
mouth of the Wisconsin. This may be 
accounted tor by the fact that inasmuch 
as Canada been surrendered to England, 
the French had of course evacuated their 
fort, which tradition said was burned the 
second year of theAmerican revolution. 

1760-80. We find no further accounts 
of visits of travellers until 1780. At that 
date Captain J. Long while at Mackinaw 
was sent by the commanding ofticer to 
accompany a party of Indians and Cana- 
dians to the Mississippi. Information 
had been received at Mackinaw that the 
Indian traders had deposited their furs at 
Prairie du Chien, where there was a town 
of considerable note, built under *he 
command of jMons. Langi-ade, the 
King's interpretei-, and the object 
of the expedition was to secure 
these furs and keep them from the 
Americans. Capt. Long left ^Mackinaw 
with thirty-six Indians of the Outagamies 
and Sioux, twenty Canadians in nine large 
birch canoes, laden with Indian presents. 
The party arrived at Green Ba}- in four 
days and proceeded through the Fox and 
Wisconsin rivers to the forks of the Mis- 
sissippi) where he met two hundred of the 
Fox Indians, and had a feast of live In- 
dian dogs, bear, beaver, deer, mountain 
cat and racoon boiled in bears' grease and 
mixed with hucklel^erries ! He proceded 
to Prairie du Chien where he found the 
merehants peltries in packs in a log-house, 
guarded by Capt. Langlade and some In- 
dians. He took 300 packs of the best 
skins and filled the canoes. Sixty more 
were burnt to prevent the enemy (the 
Americans) from taking them. He then 



returned to Green Bay (in seventeen days) 
and thence to IMackinaw. 

1781. This year Lieut. Gov. Patrick 
Sinclair, of Upper Canada, held a treaty 
with the Indians at Mackinaw, for the 
purchase of that island. Green Bay and 
Prairie du Chien. Pierre LaPointe tes- 
tified before Judge Lee, in 1820, that he 
was interpreter at the treaty. 

1781-2. Michael Brisbois gave evi- 
dence at the same time that he liad then 
(1820) been 89 years it this country, con- 
sequently was a resident at this time. He 
akso testified that from his own knowledge 
and the best information he could obtain, 
Prairie du Chien, from the mouth of the 
Wisconsin to the upjjer part of the prairie, 
had been occupied and cultivated in small 
improvements, both before and since his 
arrival, 

1783. The present settlement was be- 
gun this year by Mr. Giard, Mr. An- 
taya and Mr. Dubuque. There had 
formerly been an old settlement about a 
mile below the present village, which ex- 
isted during the time the French held 
possession of the Canadas, but it was 
abandoned chiefly on account of the un- 
healthy situation, being near the borders- 
ot an extensive tract of overflowed land. 
At this time, or soon after, says Dr. Brun- 
SON, twenty or thirty settlers, and previous 
to 1793, the wdiole prairie had been claim- 
ed and occupied, amounting to forty- 
three farms and thirty or forty village lots, 
most or all of which had previously been 
built upon. This fact was estab- 
lished in 1823, by testimony tak- 
en before Judge Lee, who was 
appointed to take testimony for th(? Gov- 
ernment on the private land claims of 
parties at the village. Tlie greater part of 
the settlers came as hunters, traders or 
employees, and taking wives of the na- 
tives commenced farming on a small 
and primitive scale, cultivating tiie land 
with wooden plows, ironed at the point, 
while they also hunted, trapped, and 
voyaged as occasion required. 

1784-1800. From a report made to Con- 
gress, Feb. 25, 1818, we learn that the vil- 
lage and fort were formally' surrendered 
by the British to the United States, on the 
first day of June, 1780. Gen. W. R. 
Smith thinks there is a doubt of the 
foniKtl surrender being made at that time. 
The genet'dl surrender of all the western 
posts did not take place till July of that 
year. 

In April, 1785, there was a great flood 
in the Mississippi; the waters rose 
fifteen to twenty feet above the highest 
mark they had ever been known to reach. 
The whole region of country drained by 
the river, presented the aspect of an im- 



mense sheet of water studded with 
islands. 

1800-1805. jMiciiael Brisbois became 
a resident in 1803, and at his death (1837) 
was buried on a bluff in the rear of the 
village. Joseph Roletee, a Canadian 
Frenchman, settled in 1804 and was en- 
gaged juany years in the fur trade with 
a Mr. Cannon. 

In the year 1805, Maj. Z. M. Pike, 
having been appointed to the charge 
of an expedition to explore the upper 
Mississippi, left St. Louis August 5, 
with a party of twenty officers and 
privates, in a keel boat 70 feet long. 

He arrived at Prairie du Chien Sept. 4. 
He found Capt. Fisher in command at 
the Fort. He proceeded up the river and 
returned to this place April 18, 1806. On 
the 20th he made a speech to the Puants 
and demanded the murderers of two 
Americans. These the Indians promised 
to deliver at St. Louis, and to return all 
British flags and medals in their posses- 
sion. The following is his description of 
the village: -'Situated about a league 
from the mouth of the Wisconsin. On 
the east bank is a small pond or marsh 
which runs parallel to the river in the 
rear of the town, which in front of the 
mar.sh consists of 18 dwelling houses, in 
two streets, (near the present "Dousman 
House") 1(3 in Front street and 2 in second 
street. In the rear of the marsh, (east of 
the Marniis de St. Ferriole, and near 
Kane's Hotel.) are 8 dwelling houses; 
part of the houses are framed, and in 
place of weather boarding there are small 
logs let into mortices made in the up- 
rights joined close, daubed on the outside 
v/ith 'clay and handsomely whitewashed 
Avithin. " There were 8 houses scattered 
around the country at a distance of 1, 2, 
3 and 5 miles; making in the village and 
vicinity, 37 houses which at ten persons 
to each house would make a poi)ulation 
of 370 souls. In the Spring and Fall ow- 
ing to the concourse of traders and their 
engagees, there are between 500 and GOO. 
A Fair is usually held in the Spring when 
300 or 400 Indians are here to exchange 
peltries for goods. 

He speaks of the old village which was 
a liiile below the present one, which had 
existed during the French occupancy of 
the country. The present village was set- 
tled under the English government, and 
the ground purchased of the Indians. 
The prairie on which the village is situ- 
ated is bounded on the rear by Iiigh, bald 
liills. "While here he selected a location 
for a Fort. 

Henry M. Fisiieb, (father of Mrs. H. 
L. Dous.man) was a trader from 1805-15. 
He was a Captain of Militia, and Justice 
of the Peace. Bazil Gagnier, a de- 
scendant of one of the early settlers, v.-as 



born here 1801, and is still living at Mill 
Coulee. Mrs. G.\l.\rneau was born here 
1798 and is still living near the city. JMrs. 
H. L. Dous.MAN was born in 1804 and has 
resided nearly all that time at this place. 

180G-1815. — A trader named Campbell 
was appointed by the government sub-In- 
dian Agent, and by the Governor of Illi- 
nois as Justice of the Peace. His price 
for marrying was 100 pounds of flour, and 
for dissolving the same, 200 pounds. 

On the 18th of June, 1812, the declara- 
tion of war against Great Britain was made 
by Congress. The protection of this part 
of our frontiers was considered of great 
importance to ourselves, as its possession 
was to the British. Early in 1814 the gov- 
ernment authorities at St. Louis fitted out 
a large boat, having on board all the men 
that could be mustered, and dispatched it 
up the Mississippi to protect the upper 
country. This boat reached Prairie du 
Chien; and on its arrival the men com- 
menced putting the old fort in a state of de- 
fense by repairing the outworks and fortify- 
ing it. Not long after taking possession, 
CoLMcK.\T,of the British army, descended 
the Wisconsin with a large force of Brit- 
ish and Indians, piloted by Jos. Rolette, 
of the village. The fort was captured af- 
ter a determined resistance against an 
overwhelming force, and the utmost ex- 
ertions of Col. McKay were required to 
prevent an indiscriminate massacre o? the 
Americans by the infuriated Indians. 
The prisoners were finally put into a boat 
and sent down the river. The fort was 
left in command of Capt. Pohlman, 
with two Mackinaw companies, under 
Capt. Anderson and Lieut. D. Graham. 
He continued in command till after the 
peace, which ensued the following year, 
when the Fort was evacuated by the Brit- 
ish. 

A more particular account of the taking 
of Prairie du Chien may be found in the 
published collections of the State Histor- 
ical Society of Wisconsin. 

In the year 1814 Farib.\ult, an early 
trader of the Upper Mississippi, was rob- 
bed of a large stock of goods at the village 
by the AYiunebagoes. A slight earthquake 
was noticed this j^ear. 

Col. B. W. Brisbois, a son of Michael 
Brisbois, was born here 1808, and is still 
living. He Avas Sheriff of Crawford coun- 
ty 1829-31 and 1833-35, Register of Deeds 
1834-38, Supervisor 1830-^38, Treasurer 
1841-53 and Government Assessor 18G4. 
He has lived to see the village grow up 
from a small trading post to its present 
importance. He has lately been appoint- 
ed by President Grant, Consul at Ver- 
viers, Belgium. 

181G. After the peace of 1815, a lucra- 
tive business was carried on between the 
merchants of St. Louis and the traders and 



Indians of the Upper ^Mississippi. GooJs 
were periodically sent up to the traders, 
who in return transmitted by the same 
bouts peltries and lead. In the period 
between 1815 and 1820Co1.Jno.Sii.vw made 
eight trips in a trading boat between St. 
Louis and Prairie du Chien, and visited 
the lead mines, where the city of Galena 
now stands. At one time he carried away 
seventy tons of lead. 

On the 21st June, 181G,U.S. troops took 
possession of the Fort at Prairie du Chien. 
Brevet Gen. Smytiie, Colonel of the Rifle 
Regiment, came here in the month of 
June, and selected the mound where the 
stockade had been built and the ground 
in front, to include the most thickly in- 
habited part of tiie village, for a site to 
erect Fort Crawford. During the ensuing 
winter or spring of 1817, Col. Talbot 
Chajibers arrived and assumed the ct)m- 
mand, and the houses in the village being 
an obstruction to the garrison, he ordered 
those houses in front, and about the fort 
(near Col. Dousmax's residence) to be 
taken down hj their owners and moved 
to the lower end of the village, where he 
pretented to give them lots. 

Judge LocKWOOD arrived here Sept. 16, 
1816. "He says the village at that time was 
a traders' village of between 25 and 30 
houses, situated on the banks of the Mis- 
sissippi, on what is in high water an is- 
land, now called the old village, as it was 
so at the time. Mr. Lyons surveyed the 
private land claims. 

There were on the prairie at that time 
about forty fjirms cultivated along under 
the blufl's,' and enclosed in the common 
field, each farm divided by a road or high- 
way. 

This year there were four companies of 
riflemen, under command of Brevet Maj. 
Morgan, buildiug the old fort, which was 
constructed by placing the walls of the 
quarters and store-houses on the lines, 
the highest outside, and the slope of the 
roof descending within the fort, with 
block houses at two corners, and large 
pickets on the others, so as to enclose the 
the fort. This fort was erected on the is- 
land formed by the river and the Slough 
of St. Ferriole. John ^Y. Johnson was U. 
S. Factor. Col. Ale.k. McNair Sutler, 
and J. P. Gates Interpreter. 

1817. Maj. S. H. Long having made a 
tour to the portage of the Fox and Wis- 
consin rivers, returned to Prairie du Chien 
and made a voj^age to the Falls of St. An- 
thony, in a six-oared skiff, accompanied by 
a Mr. Hempstead as interpreter, and by 
two young men named King and Gunn, 
grandoons of Capt. Jonathan Carver, 
who were going up to the Sauteurs to estab- 
lish tlieir claim to lands granted by those 
tribes to their grandfather. The d:;v utter 



his arrival, (July 23,) he examined the 
country to And a location belter adapted 
for a post than the present one, but did 
not succeed. AVhilc here he made ex- 
cursions in the surrounding country, and 
ref*crs to the remains of ancient earth- 
works above the mouth of the Wisconsin, 
more numerous and of greater extent than 
had heretofore been noticed. On the 25th 
he measured and planned Fort Crawford. 
He saj's it is a square of 340 feet each 
side, of wood, with a magazine 12x24 of 
stone — that it will accommodate five com- 
panies — block houses, two stories high, 
with cupolas or turrets. The building of 
the works was commenced July 3, 181G, 
by troops under command of Col. Hamil- 
ton, previous to which time no timber had 
been cut, or stone quarried for the 
purpose. He says : "Exclusive of stores, 
workshops and stables, the village 
contains only IG dwelling houses, 
occupied by families.. In the rear of the 
village about three quarters of a mile are 
four others, two and a half miles above 
are five, and at the upper end of the prai- 
rie arc four, and seven or eight scattered 
over the prairie. So that the whole num- 
ber of family dwellings now occupied 
does not exceed 38. The buildings are 
generally of logs, plastered willi mud or 
clay, and he thinks the village and inhab- 
itants have degenerated since Pike was 
herein 1805. "The inhabitants are princi- 
pally of French and Indian extraction. 
One' mile back of the village is the "Grand 
Farm," an extensive enclosure cultivated 
by the settlers in common. It is about 
six miles in length and one quarter to 
one half a mile in width, surrounded by a 
fence on one side, and the river bluft's on 
the other, thus secured from the depreda- 
tions of cattle. He speaks highly of 
Captain Duffiiey, the commanding offi- 
cer. He says of the name of the village, 
it derives its name from a family of Indi- 
ans, formerly known bv the name of 
"The Dog, "that the chiefs name was "The 
Dog." This family or band has become 
extinct. The following tradition concern- 
ing them came to his knowledge: "That 
a large party of Indians came down the 
Wisconsin from Green Bay; that they 
attacked the family or tribe of the "Dogs" 
and massacred almost the whole of them 
and returned to Green Bay; that the few 
who had succeeded in making their es- 
cape to the woods, returned after their 
enemies had evacuated the prairie, and 
re-established themselves in their former 
place of residence, and that they were the 
Indians inhabiting the prairie at the time 
it was settled by the French. 

In the spring of this year, says Judge 
LocKWOOD, a Roman Catholic priest from 
St. Louis called PerePriere visited the 
place. He was the first that had been here 



6 



for many years, and perhaps since the set- 
tlement, and organized tlie Roman Cath- 
olic Cluirch, and disturbed some of the 
domestic arrangements of tlie inliabitants. 
He found several women wlio had left 
their husbands and Avere living with 
other men ; these he made by the terror of 
his church to return and ask pardon of 
their husbands and to be taken back by 
them, whicli thej^ of course, could not re- 
fuse. 

The following description of the 
ancient mounds and fortitications found 
here is taken from Major Long's journal 
of 1817 : 

"The remains of ancient works, con- 
structed probably for military purposes, 
were found more numerous and of greater 
extent on the highlands, just above the 
mouth of the Wisconsin, than any of 
which a description has been made pub- 
lic, or that have as j^et been discovered in 
the western countrv. There the jxxrapets 
and mounds were found connected in one 
series of works. Whenever there was an 
angle in the principal lines, a mound of 
the largest size was erected at the angle ; 
the parapets were terminated by mounds 
at each extremity, and 'also at the gate- 
waj^s. No ditch was observed on either 
side of the parapet. In many places the 
lines were composed of parapets and 
mounds in conjunction, the mounds be- 
ing arranged along the parapets at their 
usual distance from each other, and 
operating as flank defences to the lines. 

"The Indians in the vicinity of Prairie 
du Chien can give no account of these 
ancient works, and their onlj^ mode of 
explaining their existence is by suppos- 
ing that the country was inhabited, at a 
period anterior to the most remote tradit- 
ions, by a race of white men similar to 
those of European origin, and that they 
were cut oft'by tlieir fore-fathers. It is 
said til at tomahawks of brass and other 
metals, differing from those in use among 
the present Indians, have been found 
under tlie surface of the ground, [Keat- 
ing.] And stories are told of gigantic 
skeletons being often disinterred in the 
neighborhood. Mr. Brisbois, wlio has 
been for a long time a resident of Prairie 
du Chien, informs me that he saw the 
skeletons of eight persons that were found 
in digging a cellar near his house, lying 
side hy side. They were of gigantic size, 
measuring about eight feet from head to 
foot. He added, that lie took a leg bone 
of one of them, and placed it hy the side 
of his own leg, in order to compare the 
length of the two; the bone of the skele- 
ton extended six inches above his knee. 
None of these bones could be preserved, 
as they crumbled to dust soon after they 
were exposed to the atmosphere." 

1818. — In the summer of this year 



William Faiixsavorth, in company with 
Kamsay Crookes, with seventeen voya- 
geurs and three passengers, embarked 
from Mackinaw in a bark canoe,and passed 
up the lake to Green Bay, and by the Fox, 
'W^isconsin and the Mississippi' rivers to 
St. Louis. 

Col. HicKMAX arrived with his lady at 
the fort, and Col. Chambers returned to 
yt. Louis. 

Col. JoHX SiiAW built a grist mill at 
Fisher's Coulee, four miles above the prai- 
rie, where the Dousman mill now stands. 

Crawford county organized October 26 
This county and Brown county included 
the whole State. The dividing line was a 
north and south line, running through the 
middle of the i)ortage between the Fox 
and Wisconsin rivers. Prairie du Chien 
made the county seat of Crawford county. 

Among the arrivals during the year 
were Mr. Nicholas Boilvin, Indian 
Agent and Civil Magistrate, Col. McNair 
and Maj. Foavler. 

1819. — Maj. Tnos. Forsyth, Indian 
Agent,made a journey from St.Louis to St. 
Anthoiw's Falls. He left St. Louis June 7, 
and arrived at Prairie du Chien July 5. 
He met here a son of Red Wixo Avith a 
band of followers, and Kettle, chief of a 
band of Foxes. 

Prairie du Chien, by common consent 
of tlie Indians, Avas neutral ground ; so 
that if hostile tribes, or members of them, 
met upon it they Avcre obliged to keep the 
peace Avhile there; but they sometimes 
fouglit Avithin three or four miles of it. 

The old Red Wikg, a Sioux chief, ar- 
rived a few days after, says Capt. Hick- 
man, and left on the 26th for St. Louis. 
On the 8th of August he set out Avith Col. 
Leaa^exaa'orth, Villi 98 soldiers, in 14 
batteaux and two boats Avith provisions 
and ordnance, for St. Peter's river, for the 
new fort to be erected there. He says at 
the Prairie, flour Avas Avorth $10 per cwt., 
corn $8 per bushel, eggs $1 per dozen, 
chickens $1 per i>air, and butter — none 
made. 

J. II. LocKwooD took up his permanent 
residence in the fall of this year. 

Maj. Nathan Clarke, of the U. S. Ar- 
m}', Avas here with his Avife. Their daugh- 
ter, Mrs. Charlotte O. Vaxclea^e, Avas 
born at Fort Crawford. He subsequently 
remoA'cd to Fort Snelling Avhere he was 
Commissary. 

Mrs. Gen. V.\xclea"e is living at St. An- 
thonj', Minn. 

1820. Judge Lee came here to take 
testimony on tlie land claims of parties re 
siding here. Crawford county this year 
erected a jail of hewn timber, lGx2o, near 
the present residence of F. J. Miller. 
MioHAEL Brisbois testified before Judge 
Lee that he had been 39 years in this 
country, and that about 18 years before 



■(1803), the French residents became some- 
Avhat iipprchensivc as to their title; whicli 
fact having- been made known to tlie In- 
dians, one of tlie lirst chiefs of the Fox 
ration, named Nan-pouis, ratified at Ca- 
holvia, near St. Louis, an ancient sale of 
said Prairie to tlie French. Congress had 
ratified these claims previously. lu the 
fall of the jirevious year (ISl'J), Gov. Lew- 
is Cass, with consent of the Secretary of 
War, projected an expedition for explor- 
ing the JNorthwestern Territory; attached 

to it AVaS II. li. SCUOOLCKAFT, 

the Avell known writer on Indian history. 
On the 5th of August, 1820, he arrived at 
Prairie du Chien from below, and where 
lie spent a few days. He says of his visit 
here, "that the town is pleasantly situated 
on the Mississipi)i; has 80 buildings, in- 
cluding the garrison, arranged in two 
streets parallel with the river, with an ag- 
gregate population of 500. This is exclu 
sive of the garrison, consisting of a com- 
pany' of infantry 9G strong, under com- 
mand of Capt. Fowle." He says: -'The 
village has the old shabby look of all the 
antique French towns on the Mississippi; 
the dwellings being constructed of logs 
and bark, and the court-j^ards picketed in 
as if they were intendea for defence. The 
town is called Kipis.\gee, by the Cliippe- 
was and Algonquin tribes generally,mean- 
ing the place of the jet or overflow of the 
(Wisconsin) river. The word appears to 
be based on the verb kipa, to be thick or 
turbid, and sauge, outflow; the river at 
the floods being little else than a moving 
mass of sand and water." 

Col. Snelling was detained here several 
weeks en court martial, of which he was 
President, and subsequently at Fort St 
Antliony, afterwards changed to Fort 
Snelling. 

On the 15th of April, three Mackinaw 
boats, manned with six hands each, load- 
ed with wheat, oats and peas,under charge 
of Messrs Graham and Laidlaw, left 
Prairie du Chien for Selkirk colonj^, on 
Red Eiver. 

1821. A steamboat first made its appear- 
ance here. It was called the Virginia, 
and owned in St. Louis. 

Jas. Rolette Alexis Baily and a few 
more went on her to St. Peters or Fort 
Snelling. Thej^ stopped and cut wood as 
they needed it. J. B. Toyer went as 
pilot. It is said that they were all intoxi- 
cated during the trip up and back. 

It was a stern wheeler, and a man with 
a pole w-as stationed on the bow to aid in 
steering. 

The inhabitants were greatly surprised 
when they first saw it in the middle of 
the river without sail, as the keel boats 
4xhvays kept near the shore in ascending 
the river. ' 



There is some dispute as to the year, 
but Col. B. W. Brisuois, who saw it, says 
it was in 1821. 

The records show that Alexis BailV 
was here April 11th, 1821. Baily was 
the first man to see the boat — he procured 
a spy-glass of M. Brisbois, and thus dis- 
covered its character. 

]\Iadame Bkiscois went on board, and 
remarked how strange it was that they 
did not have to get down into it, as in 
other boats she had seen. 

1821. This year Lord Selkirk purchas- 
ed a number of cattle of Joseph Rolette, 
and hired Alexis Bailly, J. B. Loyer 
and others to drive to the Red River of the 
North. 

Loyer was a natura. pilot; and, after 
looking at a map of the country, proceed- 
ed west to the highlands, and by taking 
frequent notice of the North star, succeed- 
ed in striking within five miles of the 
point of destination. He was without edu- 
cation of any kind, but succeeded in be- 
coming an excellent pilot for land and 
water. The steamboats which passed 
above this place in early times depended 
entirely upon him for a guide, and fre- 
quently were delaj'cd here for daj's at a 
time, awaiting his arrival. 

James Gardepie, one of our best river 
pilots at present, is a relative of the old 
pilot. 

1822. Col. Robert Dickson^, Messrs. 
Laidlaw and Mackenzie arrived here 
from Selkirk Settlement, on North Red 
river, Canada ; Dr. Bruxsox thinks it was 
in 1821. Very high water in the Missis- 
sippi entered the parade, which it covered 
to the depth of three or four feet; also 
penetrated the oflicers' quarters, rendering 
it necessarjr for the garrison to remove to 
the higher ground back of the slough. 

This year it was enacted by the Govern- 
or and Judges of the Territory of Michi- 
gan "that all the citizens of this territory, 
inhabitants of the borough of Prairie du 
Chien, be and the same are hereby ordain- 
ed, constituted and declared to be from 
time to time forever hereafter, one body, 
corporate and politic, in fact and in name 
by the name of the "Wardens, Burgesses 
and Frcmen of the borough of Prairie du 
Chien." 

Some of the provisions of the law were 
very curious; among other things "a fine 
of $2.00 was assessed for allowing a chim- 
ney to blaze out at the top ; §1 for'^hitching 
a horse to a fence ; $2 fine for white per- 
fons to be seen skulking or sneaking 
about after ten o'clock at night, and $2 
to !?5 for sJiarrieeriers." 

The borough passed and repealed by- 
laws for about three years, and stopped 
business in 1825. The first Warden was 
John W. Johnson; M. Brisbois and 



Tiios. ]\IcNaii{, Burgesses — the last were 
Jos. Rolette, Warden, M. Biiisbois and 
J. H. LocKWOOD, Burgesses. 

1823. Count Bei^trami came up the 
Mississippi on the steamer Virginia (118 
feet long and 22 feet wide) in the montli 
of May, and stopped at Prairie du Cliien ; 
among the passengers were Maj. Biddle, 
]\[r. Taliaferko, and Lieut. Uussel. 

Maj. S. H. Long, U. S. A., made his 
journey up the Mississippi by order of 
tlie Government to discover the sources 
of St. Peter's river. His party left Phila 
delphia for Fort Dearborn, Chicago, and 
thence by land northwest tlu-ough Illinois 
and the southwestern counties of Wiscon- 
sin to Prairie du Cliien, where they ar- 
rived on June 20 — found Col. Morgan in 
command. The route taken from Fort 
Dearborn is believed to be the first that 
ever was taken by the wliitcs, the journey 
occupied nine days, traversing 228 miles. 
He saj's that there were about twenty 
dwellings with a population of 150. Tlie 
Fort, he says, is the rudest and most un- 
comfortable he had ever seen. The site is 
low and unpleasant. He refers to the an- 
cient mounds in the vicinity which have 
been heretofore described. The party 
were here re-inforced, and proceeded up 
the river. There were but few Indians 
here at the time. 

Hon. Jas. Duane Doty having been 
appointed Judge of the United States Dis- 
trict Court in "the northwest, repaired to 
Prairie du Chien, where he organized the 
Judiciary of Crawford county, and opened 
court. He intended making this place 
his home, but the leading Indian traders 
not regarding the establishment of coui'ts 
within their precincts with favor, and find- 
ing a more healthy location for his family 
desu-able, he was induced to remove to 
Green Bay. W^hile here he acted as 
postmaster. 

The Detroit Ga~.ette of Oct. 17, says, 
"that information from Prairie du Chien 
hy the way of St. Louis, states that on the 
day of the election for Delegate to Con- 
gress, 83 votes were polled, of which John 
Biddle received 82 votes." This Avas be- 
fore railroads and telegraph lines were es- 
tablished. 

On the 10th day of June next, 1873, fifty 
years will have elapsed since the first 
steamer came up the Mississippi river and 
landed at Fort Suelling. It was the steam- 
er Virginia. Mrs. General Van Cleve, 
now residing at Minneapolis, is probably 
the only woman now living who witnessed 
the arrival of this steamer. 

1824. The second steamboat arrived 
here {The Putnam) and proceeded up the 
river to Fort Snelling. 

The County Board of Crawford county 
considered the propriety of erecting a 



court house, but the highest tax allowed 
by law would only suflice for current ex- 
penses, and it was deferred. 

1825. The United States Government 
sent Gov. Cass of Michigan, as Commis- 
sioner to this place to meet the Sioux and 
Chippewas, lowas, Winnebagoes, IMenom- 
onees and Sauks and Foxes, to settle ])y 
treaty the metes and bounds of their re- 
spective lands or claims. These were es- 
tablished in part, leaving the Winneba- 
goes and Menomonees an open question 
for further action. The meetings were 
held on Aug. ist and 19th. 

The steamer Warrior passed up the riv- 
er on the way to Fort Snelling, having as 
passengers. Captains Day and Beech, of 
the army, Geo. Catlin, the Indian artist. 
Gen. Geo. W. Jones and others, and ar- 
rived at Fort Snelling, June 24. On the 
24th, Catlin returned to Prairie du Chien, 
in a canoe and spent a number of days. 
While here, Wau-be-shaio^s band of Sioux 
came to the Prairie and remained some 
weeks. Catlin painted a number of In- 
dian portraits at this place. See his work 
on the American Indians. 

1826. Col. Hercules L. Dotjsman came 
this 3'ear as the confidential agent of the 
American Fur Company, and where he 
continued to reside to his death, Septem- 
ber 12, 1808. 

In the month of May occurred a great 
flood of the Mississippi, the highest of 
more modern times. The water at 
Prairie du Cliien reaching twenty-six feet 
above low water mark. The troops aban- 
doned the fort and took possession of the 
higher ground east of the slough. 

Joseph Buisbois was olerk of Craw- 
ford county from 1«2G to 1832. 

1827. In the fall of this year, the troops 
at Fort Crawford were transferred to 
Fort Snelling, leaving the former unforti- 
fied. Shortly after, the Winnebagoes be- 
came very insolent, and in the month of 
March following,attacked a camji of half 
breeds on the Iowa side of the river op- 
posite Prairie du Chien and killed the 
whole family. A famil}^ by the name of 
Gagnier living at the pond, three miles 
southeast of the village was murdered, a 
child about two years old was stunned 
scalped and thro%vn under the bed, where 
she was found a day or two after; she is 
still living near Prairie du Chien, the 
scalped part was never covered with Iiair. 

Murders were frequent and the settlers 
were obliged to take refuge at the Fort, 
which was put in as good order as possi- 
ble and taken possession of by them. On 
account of these troubles four companies 
left Fort Snelling August 17, under Maj. 
FowLE, for Fort Crawford. Two chiefs, 
AVeekan and Red Bird surrendered, and 
the latter died in the fort. 



9 



A full account of the "Winnebago out- 
break" as it is termed can be found in 
Smith's History of Wisconsin, and the 
published collections of the State Histor- 
ical Society. 

Judge LooKWOOD, in the summer of 
183G, ikiilt tlie first framed house 20x30 
near the fort, Avhicli was subsequently 
sold to the government, and occupied by 
Col. Z. Taylor. It was afterwards re- 
moved, and a new building erected at a 
cost of $7,000, for the accommodation of 
General Brooke. 

Col. T. L. KcKennfa', one of the com- 
missioners to treat with the Indians at 
Butte des Morts, came up the Fox and 
down the Wisconsin to Prairie du Chien, 
arriving here Sept. 3. He says: "the 
buildings arc old and in a state of decay, 
only two good houses, Rolette's and 
Judge Lockwood's, about one hundred de- 
caying tenements, the picket fort standing 
on the plain a little north of the village, 
(where the Dousman residence now stands) 
and quite a ruin. 

1828. On the 25th of August of this 
year, a special term of the United States 
District Court was held here by Judge J. 
D. Doty, for the trial of the Indians for 
the murders committed in June of the 
preceding year, On the 1st of September, 
CHrcK-HONG-sic, or the Little Boeuf, 
and Wa-ni-ga, or the Sun, Avere indicted, 
tried and convicted as accomplices of 
Red-Bird in the murder of Gagnier and 
Lipcap ; they were sentenced to be hung 
Dec. 26, but before that day the Presi- 
dent's pardon, dated Nov. 3, arrived, and 
the two Indians were discharged. Two 
other Indians charged with the murder of 
the family of Metiiode, were discharged, 
under a nolle ])rosequi. There can be no 
doubt, says Judge Doty, that this murder 
was intended by the AVinnebagoes as a 
first act of hostility iu the commencement 
of a war upon the white population. 

Gen. Jos. M. Street, Indian Agent, 
and Maj. Stephex H. Kearxey were in 
command at the fort, which was garrison- 
ed by the 1st regiment. 

In this year (1828) Lucirs Lyon, U. S. 
Surveyor, run out and staked the farm 
lots, known as the " private land claims," 
embracing the whole prairie and three 
ravines, or vallies, east of it. 

1829.— A daughter of Col. Zaciiary 
Taylor was married at the fort to Dr. A. 
C. Wood. 

Caleb Atavater, one of the commis- 
sioners appointed by the Government to 
negotiate with the Indians of the upper 
Mississippi for the purchase of the miner- 
al country, arrived July 15. There were 
present the Winnebagocs, Chippewas, Ot 
tawas, Pottowatamies, Sioux, Sauks, 
Foxes, Menomonees, otlicers of the fort, 
the Indian Agents, Gen. Street, Dr. Wol- 



COTT and J. II. Kinzie; also the sub- 
agents, interpreters, and a great concourse 
of strangers from every important city. 
The treaties were made July 29 and Au- 
gust 1, and eight millions of acres of land 
added to the public domain. 

In Maj' of this year, Judge Doty, H. S. 
Baird and ]M. L. Martin traveled on 
horse-back from Green Bay to Prairie du 
Chien and back, accompanied by a 
Menomonee Indian as guide. They were 
the first white men who performed this 
land journey. At the term of court at 
which these gentlemen attended, twenty 
indictments were found for murder, re- 
sulting in tlie conviction of one person, 
who subsequently escaped. 

1830. After the quelling of the Winne- 
bago disturbances a large number of 
miners and settlers came to the lead re- 
gion, and an impulse was quickly given 
to a great portion of western Wisconsin, 
which aftorded every promise of future 
prosperity. 

The building of the present Fort Craw- 
ford was commenced this year, and in 
1831 occupied with a part of the troops, 
and completed in 1832. lion Tiios. 
P. Burnett arrived and became a settler, 
and was sub Indian agent under Gen. 
Street- Mr. Baird, of "Green Bay, wife, 
two children and help arrived in a bark 
canoe on an excursion. 

The population this year was about GOO. 

The old fort was vacated in the winter 
of 1830 and spring of 1831. Jas. D. Doty 
shortly after deeded the ground where the 
new fort was built, to Ihe county for a 
court house. The county supervisors 
agreed to change this site for the old fort, 
which was to be used as a court house, 
jail, &c. They endeavored to get a law 
passed by Congress ratifying the exchange, 
but failed. March 14, 1831, the supervi- 
sors addressed a note to Col. Morgan, 
commander of the fort, requesting him to 
permit the people of Crawford county and 
"their public functioners,' to have the use 
of the blockhouse on the southeast corner 
of the old fort as a ^clerk's office, court 
house, &c. 

1831-1832. The old causes of dissension 
between the Indians and the white set- 
tlers were again stirred up, as thej^ had 
never been eftectually allayed, by the rest- 
less Black Hawk; and in the spring of 
this year he crossed the Mississippi from 
the west with his own band of three hun- 
dred warriors, together with their families, 
determined to regain, if possible, the pos- 
session of their old homes. 

The Black Hawk war was now com- 
menced, but the history of it at length 
cannot here be given. During tlie contin- 
uance of the war, 200 Indians of the Sioux 
and Chippewas came here soon after the 
battle of the Pecatonica, to fight against 



10 



the Sauks. They, however, shortly uflcr 
returned to their homes. 

Capt. J. B. EsTEs arrived at tlie fort at 
Prairie du Chiea on the 33d of July, with 
the news of the battle of Wisconsin 
Heights, and of the flight of Black Hawk 
towards the Upper Mississippi. Col. 
LooJiis, then in command at Ft. Crawford, 
sent the stetiraer Enterprise, of Galena, uj) 
the river. At Black River they found 
forty Winuebagoes, with twent3'-eight ca- 
noes collected, to aid the retreating Sauks 
to cross the river. These Indians and 
their canoes were seized and brought down 
to Ft. Crawford July 30. The Enterprise 
being a slow boat Col. Loomis hired the 
Warrior to go up the river a second time. 
On the 1st of August this boat ascended to 
the mouth of Bad Axe River, and here 
they found the Indians on the east side, 
and the engagement commenced and the 
Indians were driven to the woods. The 
boat returned the same night to Prairie du 
Chicn for wood, and started back, arriving 
at 10 A. ]\I. On the 2d of August, the bat- 
tle was continued, and the Indians over- 
whelmingly defeated. 

Black Hawk was captured by the Win- 
nebago chiefs Cha-e-tar and the one-eyed 
Decorra, who brought him and the 
Prophet to Prairie du Chien, and deliv- 
ered them as prisoners to Gen. Street, 
the agent of the Winnebagoes, on the 27th 
of August, 18o3. 

The cholera raged here severely this 
year, and one hundred soldiers died" in two 
weeks. 

I. P. Perret Gentil came here in 
1832; has been County Treasurer seven- 
teen years, and Assessor nearly as long. 

Dr. A. Brusson says : "It was about 
this time that Jeff. Davis, then a Lieut, 
in the U. S. Armj^, at this point, stole and 
married a daughter of Col. Z. Taylor, 
then and for many years in command at 
this fort. A reconciliation was afterwards 
effected, and though Davis rose to some 
distinction, it was said that 'old Zack' was 
never fond of him." 

Another authority places this event in 
183!). 

CiiAS. J. Latrobe, an English traveler, 
was here in 1833 — said he found but few 
Indians, and those were Menomonees. He 
further adds : 

"The old French settlement of Prairie 
du Cliien, founded the same year as the 
city of Pliiladelphia, and occupying as 
mucli ground as the penitentiary of that 
flourishing place, lies on the margin of 
the river, and consists of a few old, gray 
trading and dwelling houses with nothing 
either in architecture or position to merit 
furtlier notice. It seems doomed to re- 
main under the same spell as others of a 
like origin." Of the old fort he says: 
" To the north of the villa2;e an ancient 



quadrangular block-house, built of squared 
1 ogs, and as usual so contrived as to pre- 
sent eight faces — the upper part of the 
square standing across the angles of the 
lower, marks the position of the old mili- 
tary post, which within these few years 
has been superceded by a large spacious 
range of stone barracks, built on the gen- 
tle swell on the opposite side of the hayou. 
An Indian mound, round which the new 
buildings were constructed, was removed 
in levelling the square, and forty-eight 
bodies, some enclosed in wooden or bark 
coffins, were removed. Fort Crawford, as 
the new erection is called, is calculated 
to afford quarters to an entire regiment, 
though only a few companies were there 
at the time of our visit." 

Previous to and until the capture of 
Black Hawk, the whole country, might 
with propriety be considered Indian terri 
tory. There were but a few hundred set- 
tlers, and these, except the miners, the 
army and government officials and traders, 
were mostlj^ Canadian French, and mixed 
blood. After the war, the Indian title 
having been fully extinguished to all that 
portion of the State lying south and east 
of the Wisconsin and Fox rivers and 
Green Bay, the country commenced to 
settle, and from this time forward may be 
dated the Avonderful growth of the State in 
all its wealth and pros))erity. 

In July of this year two river gamblers 
came up the river to this place. They 
had taken the small-pox somewhere below, 
which made its appearance on them here, 
and from which tliey died. The disease 
spread from them to the inhabitants and 
Indians. Some of the former died, but 
more of tlie Indians. In Waubasha's 
band, where "Winona now stands, 140 
died. Tiie contagion was said to work its 
way west to the Missouri river, scattering 
death among the poor natives. The Man- 
dan Villages were said to have lost all but 
sixteen souls. The Winnebagoes in this 
vicinity died by scores and hundreds, and 
their remains were scattered along the 
river banks and in the woods, unburied, 
and eaten up by the wolves. 

The United States Government, under a 
treaty Avith the Winnebagoes, established 
a school and evened a farm on Tellow 
river, in Iowa, nearly opposite this place, 
of which Rev. David Lowry had charge. 
While the buildings were being erected 
he with the stores for the work, had his 
headquarters at this place. He or- 
ganized the first Protestant church of some 
ten or twelve members. Some of whom, 
including Gen. Street, the Indian agent, 
with this famil}', were Cumberland Pres- 
byteruins; some Methodists, as Samuel 
Gilbert and wife; and some New School 
Presbyterians, as Ezekiel Tainter and J. 
T.MiLLS,then a clerk in the quartermaster's 



11 



/ 



department in tlie Fort. It was called the 
Church in the Wilderness, and it was un- 
derstood it was tor temporary purposes, 
and that so soon as their proper churches 
should be orii-ani/.ed in tlieir reach, each 
one should be at liberty to go to his own 
home. It continued but one or two years 
before Gen. Street was moved to Rock 
Island, and the organization of the Jleth- 
odist church terminated its existence. Mr. 
LowKY, however, continued to preach at 
this place for some time. 

1835. This year a stone court house and 
jail was built, with residence for sheriff or 
jailor, which was the best in the territory 
for several years. 

After the removal of Gen Street to 
Hock Island and Mr. Lowuy to his 
school, there Avere but three American 
families in the place, outside of the fort. 
Judge J. II. LocKwooD,S.VMUEL Gilbert 
and Ez. Tainter. There was one Ger- 
man and one Irish family, and three or 
four discharged soldiers. The remainder 
were of French and mixed blood, in all 
about 500, outside of the fort. 

Charles Fexxo IIoffjiax in his 
"Winter in the West" says "on the 12th of 
November, 1834, he arrived at the Prairie, 
and was entertained by Col. Z. Taylor, 
at the fort. He remained two weeks. The 
garrison consisted of five companies of 
the 1st infantrj-. Says the village is a 
half a mile from the fort with antique 
looking timber houses, containing an 
ampiiibious population of voyagers and 
hunters, half French and lialf Indiau. 
Visits the mounds and fortifications on 
the bluffs." 

Alex. McGregor, the founder of the 
city bearing his name, came to Prairie du 
Chien this year, (1835), and in 1847 re- 
moved across the river. He died there 
Dec. 12, 1858. On the 23d of January, 
1835, the county authorities resolved that 
a court house and jail be be built for the 
public convenience. Wm. Wilsox re- 
ceived this contract for $3,695. This was 
the first court house built in what then 
constituted the territory of MicJiigan. 
The late Col. H. L. Dousman was one of 
the supervisors who superintended the 
building of the old court house in 1835, and 
was one of the committee to plan and 
superintend the building of the new one 
in 18GT, shortly before his death.' 

Rev. Alfred Bruxson came here in 
the fall of 1835, and again in the spring 
of 1836 with his famil}^ and continued 
to reside here. lie was superintendent of 
the Methodist E. Church mission of 
upper Mississippi and LaUe Superior, 
lie purchased a farm and built a house, 
bringing material from 3Ieadville, Pa., 
and continued here several years as .su- 
perintendent, and organ ized'a Methodist 



Church, which has continued to this 
time. 

Geo. W. FE.\.TnEHSTOXHAUGir. the 
English geologist came uj) the river to 
Fort Snelling, spending a few days here. 

Rev. R. Cadle, of P. E. Church, came 
here as a missionary 1836, but was shortly 
after appointed cliai>lain at Fort Craw- 
ford, where he continued till 18141, when 
he resigned and entered the missionary 
service in another part of the territory ; 
while here lie organized Trinity Church. 

S. A. Palmer, of Pottsville, Pa., was 
here in 1836, relates that there were 300 
troops at the fort, four substantial stone 
buildings, each 200 feet long, forming a 
scpiarc; a few mean houses, tenanted by a 
miserable set of French and Indians; JAS. 
FrsiiER and O. B. Thomas, came here ia 
1836; Ills father John Thomas, came ia 
1835, and have been many years in public 
life. 

Judge Ira B. BRU^'Sox, came here from 
Pennsylvania in 1836, and has been coun- 
ty surveyor 1837-46 ; sheriff 1848-9 ; clerk 
of court 1850, and Judge of count}" court 
since 1853. 

1838. In this year the fever of specula- 
tion, then running rampant over the coun- 
try, reached this place, and property' ran 
up to fabulous heights. Two laud com- 
panies were organized, who bought up all 
they could get of the private land claims 
below the garrison, and laid it out into 
city lots. But failing to succeed as they 
wislied, this part of the city remained only 
on paper for several j-ears. 

A man by the name of Van Dorx, from 
Michigan, full of the idea of Chicago and 
Milwaukee, came to this place, and 
finding no land in market except the pri- 
vate land claims, bougfet up some claims 
on Government land not j'ct surveyed, in 
the Wisconsin bottoms, which are low 
and marshy, and subject to annual inun- 
dations. This he plotted on paper, and 
went east and put it into stock, at $200,- 
000, $100 per share, and imposed upon 
many honest men, who supposed thej^ were 
buying shares in the cit}^ of Prairie du 
Chien, for so he called his marsh. He 
paid for his claims in Michigan wild cat 
money, a few days before those banks ex- 
ploded. He had to leave the countiy, and 
the last heard from him he was in Texas. 

In this j'ear population began to in- 
crease. Many who were bound ultimate- 
ly for Iowa and Minnesota made this their 
stopping place, till they could prepare 
their future homes. Several new houses 
were put up, and permanent residences 
made. A ferry was established across 
the river to a point where 3IcGregor now 
stands. 

In the fall of this year Col. Z. Taylor, 
with his regiment, left this fort for Flori- 



12 



da, and Gen. Brooke assumed command. 
As "new lords make new laws" so a lit- 
tle incident connected with this change 
shows how the public money is sometimes 
disposed of. Gen. Brooke thought the 
house in which Col. Taylor, with a 
large family, had lived in for many 
yea'rs, was not good enough for him, 
and he applied to the Department of War 
for a new house. The answer was, "No ! 
can't afford it; repair the old one." 
To do this the old house was entirely re- 
moved, or torn down, except the cellar, 
and over this a new building was erected, 
costing $7,000, under tie head of repairs. 
This house, with all the government land, 
■was subsequently sold, being bought and 
remodeled by Co). Joirsr Lawlor, the 
grounds improved, all of which novr 
has a palatial appearance, and in which 
he now resides. • [Col. W. B. Sl.vuc4Hter 
states that Gen. Brooke was, in 1836, at 
Green Bay, with his family ] 

The population of Prairie du Chien was 
850, and tlie county of Crawford, 1,220. 

1837. In this year Michael Brisbois, 
who settled here in 1802, died and was 
buried on the brow of the bluff, back of 
the prairie. He chose this place for his 
final resting place for this reason. He 
came down the Wisconsin river in a 
canoe Avith his family, and as he rounded 
the point to ascend the Mississippi to 
this prairie, the point selected was 
was the first point of the bluff that 
struck his eye. ,At his funeral, he 
being a Catholic, there being no priest of 
that order here then, a lay diocesan attend- 
ed to the service. But as some of his 
children were protestants, they desired a 
protestant to attend and participate in the 
funeral service, and accordinglj' the Rev. 
Alfred Bruxson was invited, and both 
form of service were used. 

This year the Winnebagoes ®eded their 
land in "this section to the United States, 
and white people began to make claims 
and settle the land betorp they were sur- 
veyed, or in the market. 

Capt. F. Marryat, the English novel- 
ist came from Green Bay to Fort Winne- 
bago in June, 1837, and from the latter 
place to Prairie du Chien, witli a party 
with provisions for the fort. AVhile here 
he visited the Mounds. He writes "that he 
considers Wisconsin the finest portion of 
North America, not only fi-om its soil, ])ut 
Its climate." He remained a week at the 
fort, which, he says, is a mere enclosure, 
intended to repel the attacks of Indians, 
but is large and commodious, and the 
quarters of the officers are excellent, 
built of stone, which is not the case at 
Fo'-t Winnebago or Fort Howard. 

Tlie following settlers came this year: 
Eliiiu Warner, J.^red Warner, Setii 



Hill, S. A. Clark, Tirs. Bugeee, Dr. B. 
C. Miller, Levi R. Marsh, and D. Hop- 
kins. 

The county authorities levied a tax to 
build a bridge across the "Marrais de St. 
Ferriole." It was built between the Cath- 
olic church and the Dousman residence, 
and floated away soon after. 

Losen and Seth Hill, and H. ^Y. 
Savage and Thos. A. Savage came this 
year. 

A Bank was started this year called the 
Prairie du Chien Ferry Co. Handsome 
bills were issued. Geo. W. Pine, Pres., 
H. W- Savage, Cashier. It did not circu- 
late well here, as it had no charter. It 
did less damage than most of the wild cat 
institutions of that day. 

A commission was appoiirtcd by the 
President to adjust the claims against the 
Winnebago Indians under their late treaty, 
which provided a large amount to be paid 
to the traders and their relatives. "Simon 
Cameron, Brodhead, and other gentleman 
from Pennsylvania were in attendance. 
The commission brought with them seve- 
ral attorneys, who, the claimants soon dis- 
covered, it was advisable to cmplo}^, to 
prej^are and present their claims. Those 
who paid most to the attorneys, got the 
largest allowances ; in this way some who 
had no just claim whatever, received large 
amounts. 

1838-9. On the arrival of the Ind ian an- 
nuities this year, the money was placed in 
arsenal at the fort and wtll guarded. Dur- 
ing the night three persons succeeded in 
removiug "three kegs containing each five 
thousand Mexican dollars. After consid- 
able dilficulty the parties were arrested 
and the money recovered, except about 
$1,200. 

The lands east and north of Prairie du 
Chien were this year surveyed. Maj. 
Vfji. AVrigiit settled on a claim where he 
now lives. New settlers this year were: 
W. H. C. FoLSOM, Chris, and Elias 
BowEN, David Clark, Wjl Curtiss, 
Elisha Warner, and John Forster. 

1840-1850. This year (1840) the Board of 
County Commissioners of Crawford coun- 
ty, memorialized Congress to grant to the 
county all the scope of country purchas- 
ed by'tlie early French traders from the 
Foxindians, for the purpose of a perma- 
nent settlement at this place, for the ben- 
efit of said purchasers and their descend- 
ants. The memorial alleges that said 
purchase was made in good faith and had 
not been disputed by any of the Indian 
tribes who have occupied this country 
subsequent to the purchase; that tlie 
rights which the citizens acquired under 
tlmt purchase had never been forfeited or 
relinquished, but have descended by an 
uninterrupted succession to the citizens 



13 



of Crawford county. Tliis purchase cov- 
ered all the country lyiui;^ l)ct\veen the 
Mississippi and Kickapoo rivers, running 
north about tifteen or twenty miles from 
the mouth of the "Wisconsin river. The 
memorialists claimed that the purchase 
was respected through all the changes and 
transfers of the country from France to 
Great Britain and then to the United 
States Congress, however, did not see 
fit to grant the petition, and the lands 
were put into the market, and the best por- 
tions entered in 1841. The population of 
Prairie du Chiea in 1810, was 1,503. 

After the survey ol the lands lying to 
the north and east, and their being 
brought into market for sale, emigration 
set in rapidly and the county of Crawford 
which at one time comprised the whole 
western half of the State, including the 
country around Minneapolis and the Falls 
of St. Anthony was divided and sub-divid- 
ed until it reached its present size. In 
1830 Iowa county was formed, taking all 
of Crawford county south of the Wiscon- 
sin river. In 1840 the county of St. Croix 
was taken off, out of which La Pointe 
was organized in 1845. In 1841, the coun- 
ty of Portage took what was left lying 
east of range 1, of 4th principal meridian, 
out of which Sauk, Adams, and parts of 
Richland and other counties have been 
formed — Richland county taking all east 
of range 3, north of tlie river. Chippe- 
wa county Avas also taken oft in 1845, and 
in 1851 La Crosse and Bad Axe. In 1840 
the county board granted a ferry license 
across the St. Croix river, at the battle 
ground near the head of Lake St. Croi.v, 
near Stillwater. This gives some idea of 
the extent of the county of Crawford 
north, thirty-two years since. 

In the year 1843, the election precincts 
as established by the county board, were 
Prairie du Chien, BlackRiver Falls, Chip- 
pewa Falls and Jlenomonee. In March 
of this year, R. D. Lester, sherift" of the 
county, was killed by an Indian while de- 
scending the Mississippi above the Prairie. 
lu 1845, IMount Sterling and Prairie La 
Crosse were made election precincts. Mr. 
Peltox erected a steam mill, and the first 
newspaper, the Patriot, "was published. 

In 184G, St. Croix county was organized 
from Crawford. There was much sickness 
this J'car; some ten or more of the early 
settlers died, among others, ]\Irs. D. Biiis- 
Eois, mother of Col. B. W. Brisbois, and 
jSIrs. Alfred Brunsox. This year and 
the succeeding one (1847), Fort "Crawford 
was garrisoned b}^ a company of volun- 
teers under Capt. Wyram Kxowltox, the 
regular troops having gone to Mexico. 

In June, 1847, there was another freshet 
in the Mississippi, the river above the vil- 
lage was three to five, and in some places 



ten miles wide, extending from blufF to 
bluft". A large portion of the prairie Avas 
overllowed, though no material damage 
was done. On the 20th of July, a milita- 
ry company known as the "Dodge 
Guards," was re-organized, and sixty-si.x- 
men were mustered into the service by 
INIajor Alex. S. IIooe, for and during the 
Mexican war. Twenty-five of the former 
company re-enlisted under Capt. MouaAN 
On the 14th of September, Major Hooe, 
commandant at the Fort, received orders 
to repair to Baton Rouge, and left imme- 
diately. 

1848. At the election for President, 
Nov. 15, Gen. Lewis Cass received 108 
votes, and Gen. Zaciiary T.vylor 70. 

1849. Louis Mayxard was killed by 
TiiEopiiiLus La CiiAr-PELLE, and his 
house burned. The latter was tried in 
November of that year, and found not 
guilty, on plea of insanity. 

The population in 1850 was 2,399. 

1850-55. A large railroad meeting was 
held Jan. IG, 1850, to take into considera- 
tion the proper point for a terminus of the 
]\Iilwaukee and Mississippi Railroad. 
Resolutions were passed recommending 
Prairie du Chien, and setting forth its ad- 
vantages over other points that had been 
suggested. 

Information was received here that a 
large number of Winnebago Indians had 
left their designated home on the Crow 
Wing, with chiefs Daxdy and Little 
Hill, and that they were at Black river 
and vicinity, having been starved out, and 
had returned to Wisconsin in pursuit of 
game, and that their appearance and con- 
duct were in every Avay hostile to the 
white settlers in that region; that they had 
made serious depredations upon the 
whites, stealing horses and cattle, entering 
dwelling houses and carrying oft" provis- 
ions. 

On the 18th of March, Gen. DoDGE,then 
in the U. S. Senate, called the attention of 
the Secretary of the Interior (Hon. Tiios. 
Ewixg) to the matter, who on tne 5th of 
April informed him that troops Avould be 
sent forward to protect the settlers and 
force the Indians to return to their coun- 
try. In the month of jMay Hon. II. M. 
Rice, of St. Paul, received a contract from 
the Government for removing the Indians 
to their homes. On the loth of Februar}^, 
1851, two Chippewa Indians named Osno- 
GA and Baptiste Rob.\do, confined in jail 
at the Prairie on conviction of murder 
and sentenced to be executed, broke jail 
and escaped. 

During the same mouth the Legislature 
of this State set oft' and organized BadAx 
county from the countv of Crawford. 

185G. On the 12th 'of June, 1850, the 
government ofticers and troops departed 
with stores and provisions on the steamer 



14 



"War Eagle" for Fort Snclling. The" 
garrison consisted of four companies of 
United States rifles. Tlic local newspa- 
pers expressed the desire that the Fort 
■would not be again used as such, and the 
grounds should be brought into market. 
At this time the railroad from Milwaukee 
to Prairie du Chien was being pushed to 
completion and considerable interest, w-as 
felt by all classes of people, on the effect 
it was to have on tlie growtli and prosper- 
ity of the town. 

On the 26th of June, two ejectment 
suits wove tried in the circuit court, in- 
volving the title to farm lots 33 and 34, 
heretofore held and supposed to be held 
by the United States government, and on 
■n'hich Fort Craw-foril is situated. The 
suit was brought by Ira B. Brunson, B. 
W. Brisbois and Cyrus Woodman, 
against a tenant of the United States, tlie 
government taking up the defense. The 
suits were decided in favor of the plain- 
tifls. 

On the 2d of November, Trinity Church 
was opened for worship for the first time; 
Rev. J. E. Egar, Rector. The building 
■was 26 by 65 feet. 

During the same month, Alex. Mc- 
Gregor built and put in operation a 
steam ferry boat, to ply between Prairie 
du Chien and the village of McGregor. 

The Courier, of January 8, 1857, says, a 
line of steamers is building, to run in 
connection with the raiiroad from Prairie 
du Chien to Saint Paul; that during tl'e 
year past two new brick hotels have been 
completed, and two others remodeled; 
two steam ferry boats, to cross the river 
to McGregor, have been purchased ; one 
new church, erected ; three splendid brick 
blocks, nineteen stores, two breweries, 
one steam fl(niring mill, and about a hun- 
dred dwelling houses put up, besides the 
extensive works of the railroiul company. 
Five brick yards, two stone quarries, 
three lumber yards and one saw mill liave 
been inadequate to meet the demands re- 
quired for improvements. 

1857. The great and long expected 
completion and opening of the Milwaukee 
and Prairie du Chien Raiiroad took place 
this year. On the IGtii of April the lirst 
train from Milwaukee witli the directors 
and a party of guests arrived. The open- 
ing of the road was a great cause of re- 
jwicing and ever}^ one felt the inspiration. 
When it is remembered that difficulty was 
experienced before this time by the resi- 
dents in going to and fro from Milwaukee 
and Chicago, and depending as they were 
obliged to do, entirely on the Mississippi 
river for a market, and in the winter sea- 
son entirely cut off except by land trans- 
portation, it will be seen that there was 
much cause for enthusiasm. Its influ- 
ence on Prairie du Chien and the states of 



Iowa and JMinnesota was ef a marked 
character, inducing immigration, and 
benefiting all classes of business enter- 
prise. One newspaper states that three 
liundred and twenty-seven houses were 
erected here this year, and besides many 
other public improvements. 

The location of the depot grounds was 
for some time a cause of difficulty, as- 
residents of the two portions of the city 
known as the upper and the lower town, 
were each anxious that the location should 
be in their section. The Railroad com- 
pany chose the lower town, Avhicli was 
used for a time, and subsequently chang- 
etl the same to the upper town. It is not 
probable that auj^ further changes will be 
made. 

At the election held April 16th, for 
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, Mi 
M. CoTiiREN received 262 votes, and E. V. 
WniTON 433, and 33 scattering. 

1858. For some time previous, the 
towns on the Upper Mississippi -were 
known to be the lurking place of a gang 
of robbers and thieves, and this j^ear the 
depredations that were committed in the 
neighborhood of the Prairie, made it evi- 
dent that they had come up the river to 
extend their business. About the 1st of 
May a crowd of villainous looking fel- 
lows were observed about the town, and a 
few days after an elderly man in passing 
through the place to his home in thecoun- 
ry fell into tlieir hands and was plundered 
of everything. Shortly after a jewelry 
store in the town was broken into and 
robbed of property to the value of $2,000. 
These vagabonds were seen in the streets 
with revolvers andbowie knives insulting 
those who came in their way, and threat- 
ening "to clean out the town." The i)roper 
authorities were insufficient to discharge 
their duties, and the rowdies were allowed 
to do pretty much as the}' pleased. 
These events created a great deal of 
excitement among the inhabitants, and a 
vigilance committee v>-as appointed, who 
arrested some twelve of these characters, 
and put tliem in the jail. A meeting of 
the citizens was called, and it was decided 
tiiat something must be done to rid the 
town of these rascals. The prisoners were 
brought to the Court House and examined, 
and it was decided that six of the princi- 
pal ones should have their heads shaved 
and to receive ten to thirty lashes on the 
back, and sent down the river; one of the 
number, a negro, was appointed to do the 
shaving. Tlie sentence was duly enforced. 
A few of the number were discharged, on 
due and proper admonition, and some es- 
caped. A report of the proceedings was 
drawn up and published in the news- 
papers. 

1851). At the election for associate j us- 
ticeof the Supreme Court, April 5, Wm. 



15 



Pitt Lynde received 27-4 votes and Bviiox 
Paine 118. 

On the 12Ui of ]\riiy another inundation 
took place, tlie water being higher tlian 
had been known for ten years. The is- 
lands in tlic river were covered, the main 
town an island and the bridge over the 
slough under water. 

The discovery of gold at Pike's Peak 
created considerable excitement here and 



a number of persons went to the gold re- 
gion. 

IbGO. The history of the city from this 
time forward to the present time is so re- 
cent that it is not necessary to extend this 
paper to further length, leaving that to 
the future annalist. 

The population of the city in IKGO was 
2,399, and in 1870, 3,601. 



Tlie writer of this paper would express his acknowledgment to Kev. A. Brunson, D. D., Hon. Iba 
B. Brunson and Col. B. \V'. Brisbois, for valuable iuformation. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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